India bars Italian envoy from leaving, escalating tensions over marines shooting incident
India wants Italy to send two Italian marines accused of shooting Indian fishermen back to stand trial. Italy has refused, despite having promised earlier that it would.
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An editorial in The Times of India states that “The incident will reinforce the impression of India being a soft state with foreigners, whether friend or foe, unable to take its commitment to the rule of law seriously.
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"In the event there's little that New Delhi can do now. At best it can make a show of diplomatic anger and expel the Italian ambassador, but that will hardly serve the cause of justice for the fishermen. The misuse of paroles is rampant in India. But our government can't show the same apathy in the Italian marines' case. Their government has done an exemplary job of pursuing their interests. Fishermen plying some 3,00,000 fishing boats operating along the Indian coast deserve similarly robust defence. When they are mistaken for Somali pirates, shouldn't they be able to count on their government to champion them?"
And many Indians took to Twitter to denounce their government’s decision. “We could have at least sent the #ItalianMarines back in one of our AgustaWestland VVIP choppers,” tweeted @ShivAroor, alluding to the alleged kickback scheme in India over the manufacturing of the Anglo-Italian helicopters.
And a cartoon by Satya in The Times of India shows an image of Singh calling Italy asking for the marines to be returned. The Italian response?
“You think it's some pizza service? No home delivery!” A thought bubble next to the prime minister shows him noting that he must have called the wrong number.
An editorial entitled “An Italian Job” in The Hindu says that refusing to return Mr. Latorre and Mr. Girone may earn Italy “brownie points at home,” but the decision is “unbecoming of a responsible nation.
"The duo were permitted by the Supreme Court to visit Italy to cast their votes in the Feb. 22 national election, on a promise by the Italian government that they would return to India to face trial. Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi of the outgoing government spoke glowingly of the decision as “evidence of the climate of mutual trust and cooperation with Indian authorities.” Italy now stands in breach of that trust. The Italian foreign ministry says New Delhi did not heed its request for a diplomatic resolution, a curious statement considering all avenues for such resolution have already been tried and exhausted….
"While India-Italy ties will not be the same again, the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the two accused men to leave India is also curious…. another embarrassment for the UPA, which stands exposed for allowing itself to be taken for a ride so easily by a foreign government.
India's actions also came in for criticism from abroad. “The Indian government continues to embarrass itself through repeated diplomatic bunglings,” read an editorial in Gulf News entitled “Italian marines exploited India’s naïve diplomacy.”
According to Reuters, Indian officials say they are weighing their next steps, and may consider expelling the Italian ambassador if the men don’t arrive in court as scheduled on March 22.
"I am the envoy. I will represent the government of Italy until the very moment when [a competent authority] would declare me persona non grata," ambassador Mancini told reporters yesterday.
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